6. Electric Vehicles Go Commercial

By Bryan WalshWednesday, Dec. 07, 2011

Martin Klimek / Zumapress

The Chevy Volt

It seems as if we've been waiting for electric cars forever. General Motors first announced the concept car for the Volt  an extended-range electric vehicle  more than four years ago, and Nissan has been working on its all-electric Leaf for nearly as long. I don't think any other car models in the world have had more stories written about them  and more commercials shown  before anyone could actually put one in the driveway.

But that day finally came in 2011. GM and Nissan began selling their electric cars to intrepid drivers around the U.S., finally fulfilling the promise of their commercials. The numbers are still small  fewer than 10,000 cars each for both models  and the Volt in particular has been dogged recently by safety concerns involving battery fires that can occur as a result of collisions. It's still far from clear that the demand will really be there for electric vehicles  especially in a down economy  but at least the option is here.